Minneapolis making bid to keep Vikings stadium

The team and the state of Minnesota would pay the rest of the cost for the football stadium. The state would pay $300 million, or about 33 percent of the total costs, which would be raised by through a 10 percent state sales tax on sports memorabilia, a sales tax on luxury seats at the new stadium and on digital video recorders, and proceeds from stadium naming rights and a football-themed state lottery game.

Rybak and City Council President Barb Johnson, who supports the proposal, said they believe they could round up the necessary votes to get it through the city council.

Raising the necessary city sales taxes would require the Minnesota Legislature to vote to override the city's charter commission, which prohibits sales tax increases without a vote by city residents. Several members of the city's all-Democratic legislative delegation said that would be a very tough sell with their constituents, particularly given likely deep cuts to state programs in the face of a projected $5 billion state budget deficit.

"We're constantly hearing that the Vikings are a statewide resource, with statewide benefits," said Rep. Diane Loeffler. "To ask Minneapolis, which is so over-burdened in so many different ways, to step up with additional revenues seems to me very unfair and not the kinds of priorities I hear about from my constituents."